Pregnant Kate's "rounded belly" pictures make a splash overseas

MILAN (REUTERS) - An Italian magazine ignored the protests of Britain's royal family on Wednesday to publish pictures of Prince William's pregnant wife Kate in a blue bikini on a private island.

The gossip magazine Chi, owned by former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, defended its decision to splash pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge showing off her "rounded belly" by implying they were taken in public.

"It is not possible to talk about a breach of privacy when public personalities are photographed in a public, open place such as (a) beach, attended by bathers," Chi editor Alfonso Signorini said in an emailed statement.

Wednesday's six-page insert headlined "Kate & William - Honeymoon for three" is not the first time Chi has earned the ire of the British royals.